Has Automobilista 2 surpassed rFactor 2 as an overall sim?

Shovas

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Has Automobilista 2 surpassed rFactor 2 as an overall sim?

With the release of the Racin' USA pack we now have GTE, GT3, and GT4 classes (not to mention Protoypes and GT5s) in a rather modern package with a physical tire model. This has been the traditional area of cars and driving experience where rFactor 2 was hard to beat.

I swap between sims for a breath of fresh air and to refresh myself on physical tire models after spending time in other sims that don't have a physical tire model. It helps me reset my feel for what ffb should be as I tune ffb in other sims.

I realized over time that I was getting quite used to AMS2 ffb and, at some point, for most cars and for all practical purposes going back to rF2 for the traditional best driving experience just wasn't that much of a draw anymore, especially factoring in slow loading times, a sluggish and awkward UI, and more demanding yet less attractive graphics.

I'll grant that rF2 still has the edge on the tire model, ffb, physics, etc. But in reality it tends not to be enough of a difference. AMS2 is "good enough" for me now, I guess.

The one area that rF2 has hands down is open moddability. That likely won't ever happen with AMS2. And I'll admit and fully expect that Motorsport Games will bring rF2 up to modern standards...eventually.

But for now, what's your opinion? Has rF2 swapped with AMS2 in your personal rankings?

I think it has for me...for now.
 
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For me? Absolutely. I stopped supporting rfactor 2 for a while now. especially since I discovered Steelcast 27 setups. Those things make a huge difference and I think are some of the reason some people have hangups with AMS 2 (emptybox put it in an interesting way in that he feels that certain cars have medium values applied to their setup options). But the problems you point out plus errors like max deflating of the tires for super speed and content being all over the place (granted some content in AMS 2 is also a bit off but I find that some setup changes usually fix it) make me not boot rf2 anymore.
 
I'm taking a long break from RF2 after 9 years of solid support due mainly to S397s lack of interest in ongoing AI Issues & Bugs, I CBA to continue patiently waiting year after year after year to see the AI continually going on ignored. Other Devs can work on AI simultaneously just fine, like Reiza here with AMS2, so I find it incredibly frustrating, questionable and annoying that S397 simply & clearly don't have any interest in it.

So for me as it currently stands - Yes, AMS2 has surpassed RF2 as I no longer have the latter installed and won't reinstall for some time, if ever...and I love/d that Sim!

Watching AMS2 grow this past year & a bit has been great, it's matured nicely and got very strong in various areas. There's still plenty to do and certain areas I hope Renato can eventually get too, but as it stands right now with the v1.2 Update it's in a very good position. I've made it my "go to" sim for now but plan on popping into RaceRoom from time to time as I like that one too.
 
I'm a big fan of 60s and 70s tin tops. Last time I checked, AMS2 didn't have enough of those that I found convincing to drive. I bought it cheap in EA so I'm still sitting on my hands, waiting for it to mature. Maybe I should give it another try.
BTW, I heard there were issues with MP. Did Reiza fix those yet?
Great thread btw, interesting question well put IMO. :thumbsup:
 
I'm a big fan of 60s and 70s tin tops. Last time I checked, AMS2 didn't have enough of those that I found convincing to drive.
Yeah I miss those too and I still use AC for those. There's a distinct lack of AMG 300 SELs in AMS2. Im quite conviced 60's/70's tin tops will come eventually, since Reiza seem to try and have a few cars of every kind so to speak. I like the current offerings like the Copa Classics and the Opala '79, but I can see how they wouldn't be everybody's cup of tea.

Although I was never a hardcore fan of rF2 as many others are, I liked the driving feel and the FFB on all wheels except my CSL Elite where kerbs rattled my teeth out. I drove it sparsely, but kept supporting S397 by buying most of the DLC and mainly used rF2 for GTE/LMS racing, which I did enjoy - when I got it working.

The issue is that like many have said, apart from DX11 and the new UI, rF2 is basically where it was many years ago. Core issues have been ignored, the core of the sim hasn't progressed much all the while new DLC came out one after the other. Currently for me the only theoretical draw to rF2 is Le Mans, and that is useless in Single Player, since the AI won't overtake. Historical content is mediocre to drive because there is no transmission model at all. I bought Spa, the Ferrari GTE and the LMP/DPI pack... but I never even used them. I could go on.

To finally answer the question posed, a concrete YES from me by now. As an avid fan of AMS1 and Reiza as a Studio that's very close to their customers and have a deisgn philosophy and work ethic that's very close to my heart, honestly, I have had a bias towards AMS from the beginning. I drove AMS2 a lot already when it came out in beta, but of course there was sooo much stuff that was wonky or outright missing back then. It all came together very nicely, and we're only a bit over a third into the planned development time for AMS2. It's also been my to-go sim for quite a few months now, and and keeps getting better.
 
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Comparing AMS2 and RF2 is like comparing Apple and oranges. You can like one better than the other as they both have value, but the best cars in RF2 drive, IMO, in a different league better than the best cars in AMS2, which does not imply AMS2 is bad.
I actually enjoy AMS2 more often than RF2, as it is, IMO, a better total package at this time.
 
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Comparing AMS2 and RF2 is like comparing Apple and oranges. You can like one better than the other bit they both have value, but the best cars in RF2 drive, IMO, in a different league better than the best cars in AMS2, which does not imply AMS2 is bad.
I actually enjoy AMS2 more often than RF2, as it is, IMO, a better total package at this time.
This is a good claim to bring up because it's something I've considered and I came to a different conclusion. I would say, yes, rF2 drives better...but not by much, maybe not by enough to make it worth it?

For example, compare the latest AMS2 GTE cars to rF2 GTE cars. These are arguably the best (official) cars in each. While they drive different, and rF2 has an edge, I'd argue that AMS2 is "good enough." That said, I don't like saying "good enough" and I do hope they keep improving and eclipse rF2 in all areas. Or, I'd be equally pleased for rF2 to keep improving and excel in every area, as well.

Here's another comparison. ACC is considered by most as the best GT3 sim and yet its driving experience (ffb, physics, handling, feel) , in my opinion, doesn't even match AMS2. Still, many would rate ACC higher than rF2. Point being, they're saying that likely because of the slick presentation, graphics, sound, etc. and not simply the basic driving experience. If they are, or as I do, I'd rate ACC somewhere very high but down further, below AMS2 and rF2.
 
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AMS2 has good SOTP presentation often confused for better FFB, but physics and steering rack forces are not the same level as ACC. Latest GTE cars in FFB feel at least are getting there, but still plagued by the same unevenness in quality as the rest of the content. BMW M8 is getting closer to ACC, but Corvette C8.R feels super odd in comparison as if it's using different tire model.
The potential is there, content consistency is a problem. Hate to say that, but it's the same issue that plagued both PCars titles.
 
Corvette C8.R feels super odd in comparison as if it's using different tire model.

Maybe, I know I prefer racing the BMW M8 out of the 2 for sure.

Yes we want constantly good content but maybe not consistancy to the point where the cars feel too similar to each other.

Consistancy of feeling in the driving is something that I think is a problem for RaceRoom where cars just don't seem to have that much personality of their own.

But I'm looking forward to the new RRE update, I think that's supposed to address that :) but geewiz is RRE starting to look old.
 
For single-player, yes, I think AMS2 already surpassed rFactor2. There is still a lot of work for Reiza to do in that area (bugs, finish custom championship, add custom grids), but what we have is already much more than rFactor2. And seems that single-player is just at the bottom of the priority for s397, so I don't expect that game to get any better in that area.

For multiplayer, AMS2 is still not at the same level. rFactor2 has many more options for league racing + official events. Some people still complain about AMS2 netcode, but I don't know if those complains are really true, as I haven't had any issues with its net-code recently (but I also almost never do multiplayer races). But I do think that AMS2 has the potential to even surpass rFactor2 in the not so long future in this area, as soon as Reiza starts working on it. And probably more leagues will come in the near future. Even with its low population, AMS2 is probably already a better option when it comes to public lobby racing, as that is non existing in rfactor2.
 
I have to say that I have been hugely critical of AMS2, but the recent updates have changed it completely for the better. To drive, I get as much pleasure from it as I do from RF2. And it is only slightly less annoying to set up.
 
No, AMS2 still has a long way to go. Not a bad pace, but it's not yet RF2's level.

But what's the point in saying that RF2 is better? I'm having an interesting time in AMS2, I'm suffering in RF2. I have made my choice.
Why do you say a "long" way to go? I feel they have room to grow but if they really wanted to there's some things they could bang out if they were really serious about taking the crown. Wouldn't be that hard to do if the will were there.
 

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